NATION DATELINES

Compiled from Examiner wire reports

Published 4:00 am, Monday, October 30, 1995

AH: 150 flee homes after train leaks chemical Molino, Fla. About 150 people have been evacuated from their homes after a freight train derailed and spilled 20,000 gallons of sodium hydroxide, a caustic liquid. No one was injured.

The train was headed from New Orleans to Baldwin, Fla., with two crew members on board when 29 of its cars peeled off the tracks in this Florida Panhandle town at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, said CSX Transportation Inc. spokesman Robert Gould.

Gould said officials weren't sure what caused the derailment. "There is no indication there was excessive speed at this time," he said.